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Extern Job Shadowing Program - Information for students

What is the Extern Job Shadow Program and what will I learn?

UTM’s redesigned Job Shadow Program is an opportunity that will enable you to test drive a career by visiting a professional (job shadow host) in their workplace. Job shadowing will help you gain insight into an industry or career, better understand how classroom learning can be applied to work outside of school, and learn more about the skills and educational requirements needed to follow your career interests.

Where will I be placed?

Job shadow placements are primarily provided by GTA-West employers and community members and may last a half or full day. For a sample of previous placements, click here.

Important Dates

Fall 2018 Dates

Details

September 10, 2018

Applications open

September 24, 2018 by 4pm

Applications close

September 26, 2018

Receive notification of placement match

October 1, 2018

Deadline to accept placement match

October 9 - 19, 2018

Placement period (please note that there may be a few placements that fall outside of this period)

November 2, 2018

Deadline to complete reflection

Winter 2019 Dates

Details

January 21, 2019

Applications open

January 28, 2019

Applications close

January 29, 2019

Receive notification of placement match

February 1, 2019

Deadline to accept placement match

February 19 - March 1, 2019

Placement period (please note that there may be a few placements that fall outside of this period)

March 25, 2019

Deadline to complete reflection

Spring 2019 Dates

Details

April 1, 2019

Applications open

April 5, 2019 by 4pm

Applications close

April 8, 2019

Receive notification of placement match

April 11, 2019

Deadline to accept placement match

April 29 - May 10, 2019

Placement period (pleaes note that there may be a few placements that fall outside of this period)

May 27, 2019

Deadline to complete reflection

Career Areas

Participating in the Extern Job Shadow Program allows you to explore a career area of interest. If you are undecided about your career placement choice, we can suggest workshops and resources to assist you in discovering your options. You can also access many online resources including Planning Your Career and Careers by Major.

The program attempts to find placements in areas where students have expressed an interest. Each placement experience is unique and students explore the career via different activities. All placed students will receive detailed information and one-to-one coaching about their placement activities prior to the beginning of their placement. The activities are determined by hosts and the most common activities are:

Meet with HR and learn about recruiting process

Tour of the department or facilities

Shadowing the host or observation

Attending meetings

Hands-on project

Special Considerations

It is common for some placements to limit some types of activity due to factors such as confidentiality, security, or busy season in the field/organization. Here are special considerations for some career areas:

Medical-related placements, pharmaceutical and biotech:

There are a number of privacy regulations in health-related environments. It is rare to sit in on appointments with doctors, dentists or nurses, since patients always retain the right to refuse any job shadowing during their care. Students will usually need to provide some medical records (i.e. proof of a TB test, etc.) to do shadowing in hospitals and they may need to complete a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Software Development:

Confidentiality issues and competitor concerns means that participation by the software development industry is limited.

Teaching/Placements in Schools:

Most schools require that you have a recent police check. Police checks can be done at either Peel Police Headquarters (7750 Hurontario Street, Brampton) or Square One Community Station (100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga – located beside Entrance 7 across from the bus terminal). Further information is available at the Toronto Police Services website at www.torontopolice.on.ca.

We will try our best to provide students with placements in career areas of their interest. If you have questions about the viability of any career area, please contact Jelena at jelena.vulic@utoronto.ca or 905-569-4903.

Require accommodations?

Testimonials

"With regards to my placement, I had a wonderful time and learned a lot. Signing up for the Extern Job Shadowing program was one of the best decisions I have made so far during my undergraduate journey."

"You did a great job creating the number of potential placement opportunities listed."

"I would like to express my utmost appreciation for coordinating the job shadowing program. It was intriguing and inspiring; my host introduced me to crucial components of the complicated water treatments systems in Toronto, which provided me with more profound understanding of the indispensability of your work.”

"This was a well-organized program which gave me insight on the career I wanted to explore as I was unsure as to what career I wanted to pursue."

"I got a better understanding of the financial planning activity as well as the way to access the employment opportunities related to finance. I observed the work environment and the dynamics between employees and clients that was invaluable for exploring my career interest. The most beneficial part was that I had the chance to learn what it means to work in Financial Services and what skills are necessary in order to succeed.”

- 2nd year student: Specialist in Finance and Major in Economics

"The placement clarified some misconceptions of the job description that I had heard. It gave me a sense of direction, a timeline for me to follow should I really want to pursue genetic counselling as a career. I gathered contacts of other genetic counselors should I have questions about admissions into the master's program at different schools. I now know what exactly I would get myself into should I choose to pursue this career. Thank you very much for this opportunity. Ms. Haroun was really friendly and she gave me contacts to places I can volunteer in to gain experience before applying to the master's in genetic counselling program. The experience was very helpful."